


Depends On Your Definition

by DyraDrabbles (DyraDoodles)



Category: Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Cannibalism, Catholic Guilt, Don’t copy to another site, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-09-17 15:12:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DyraDoodles/pseuds/DyraDrabbles
Summary: This was supposed to be a vacation. A world-tour, almost. A trip made for pleasure. For discovery. An excuse to show off this crazy, beautiful, broken, perfect hunk of rock that he inhabited.It wasn’t supposed to be a hop, skip, and a faceplant down memory lane.--Eddie and V go to New York and get caught up in false accusations, true accusations, and general Avengers malarkey.





	1. Our Lady of Saints

**Author's Note:**

> I have a fairly solid idea of where I want this story to go, but HUGE DISCLAIMER: I have no earthly idea of when I can update. I shouldn't have even gotten this chapter done as fast as I did, but the idea won't leave me alone lol
> 
> Primarily adheres to the movie canon, with a smattering of butchered comic-verse usage (mostly Dark Origin, minus Spider-Man).

He didn’t want to be here.

The church spires loomed, jutting roughly into the sky, at odds with the sleeker, more boxy buildings on either side. Its stained glass windows were dull, drained of color by the heavy, gray clouds reflecting off the panes. Frigid wind carried those clouds. Weak wind, barely moving tufts of brown hair that hadn’t been gelled into place, but the chill in the air stole the breath of the small, inconsequential man standing on the sidewalk.

This was supposed to be a vacation. A world-tour, almost. A trip made for pleasure. For discovery. An excuse to show off this crazy, beautiful, broken, perfect hunk of rock that he inhabited.

It wasn’t supposed to be a hop, skip, and a faceplant down memory lane.

He never wanted to come back to this church, with its stoic saints watching him from on high. Staring. Observing, but never intervening. Judging him, passively, uncaring, even as he’d lifted a gun to his head, finger tight on the trigger. Even as his lungs burned, from sobbing and screaming obscenities at the altar, at a god who didn’t care about him either.

Black bled through his fingertips, coating his hands in what could be mistaken for sleek, fashionable leather gloves, which were entirely out of his current price range. Even with the payout from the Life Foundation lawsuit, he knew he’d never be able to find a pair that clung so perfectly, not restricting his movements in the slightest. The material spread beneath his flimsy leather jacket, up his arms and over his chest. It was warm. His lungs tightened, the black squeezing, gently, as if it could hold the many breaking pieces of himself together.

A slow sigh escaped him, his breath a hot cloud of steam in the cold air.

**_Eddie._ **

“Yeah, bud,” Eddie answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

**_Don’t like this place._ **

“Me neither,” the reporter agreed with a smirk. The sight of the church brought him nothing but bad memories, and he knew Venom must be picking up on the residual nasty chemicals flooding his— _their_ brain.

He was still getting used to the plural.

They’d found each other and bonded so quick, the events leading to their symbiosis were almost a blur. Now, it was like they were meant for each other, from the very beginning. They grew on each other, clung together tight, with no intention of ever letting go, like ivy snaking its way up a busted brick wall.

**_Yes, sometimes it does feel as though we are talking to a brick wall._ **

“ _Wow_ , okay. Thanks, man,” Eddie chuckled, his gaze flicking away from the church and down the street, catching the eye of a pair of older women. They watched Eddie with scorn, clearly unnerved by the crazy man talking to the air, grinning at nothing. They didn’t seem to care enough to call him out, though. “You’re one to talk,” Eddie shot back, shifting his shoulders, Venom stretching along his spine.

 ** _You enjoy our banter,_** Venom accused, and Eddie could _feel_ the symbiote’s grin in the words. **_Don’t deny it._** Venom directed their head to look back at the solid oak doors of the church. **_Why are we even here?_**

“I dunno, thought maybe I could take a look,” Eddie shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn’t want to take a look. He didn’t even want to _see_ the church, but knowing it was here, knowing it was in the area, he felt himself drawn back to it. A siren’s song, pulling him away from the course of their life. A reminder of when he’d almost crashed against the rocks and drowned.

 **_It’s making us depressed, Eddie,_ ** Venom chastised. The symbiote jerked their body backward an inch, barely noticeable to the general public, but plenty noticeable to their stubborn bodymate. **_This is a waste of time._ **

“True,” Eddie mumbled. He couldn’t argue that point. “I don’t wanna, like, go _in_ \- I just wanted a look. See if I…” _See if I could face it_ , his thoughts finished for him. He grimaced. Venom probably heard that. “Anyway, we’d probably catch fire if we went in—”

**_We WHAT?!_ **

Eddie winced at the screech. Oh, was _that_ ever the wrong choice of words. “Sorry, V, I didn’t mean — It’s just a joke, a bad one, I just meant—” He fumbled, not sure how to explain all the years of doctrine concisely. Years of sitting in the pews, listening to the priest drone on and on about the damnation of their souls. Of Satan, and hellfire. “We just, we don’t belong in there. Sinners don’t do well in churches,” he muttered, casting a pointed gaze at the statue of Saint Cecilia, which watched them, sightless.

She offered no comment.

Venom, on the other hand, had a running commentary longer than most director’s cuts. **_We can go anywhere we want,_ ** the symbiote argued. **_Your nebulous ideas of souls and sinners are confusing, Eddie_** **.** **_Explain._ **

Eddie huffed a laugh, running a hand over the scruff on the back of his neck. “It’s a little over my head, V. ” It had been so long since he’d come anywhere near a church. The lessons ingrained into him were still there. Plus the guilt, of course. The guilt still ran strong, led his life, whether he believed in god anymore or not. “Souls are kinda hard to explain,” he muttered, frowning. “Sinners are, uh...They’re bad people. Break God’s laws and stuff.”

Smugness radiated from Venom, and Eddie felt their body smiling involuntarily. **_We are not a sinner, Eddie_** , the symbiote concluded. **_We are not a bad person_**.

The smile became fully Eddie’s. “Yeah? You think?”

 **_Of course. We EAT bad people!_ ** Venom crowed.

The locale, and his neurons’ cruel games of word association had Eddie going stiff where they stood. He did not want to think about how Venom eating bad guys could now be equated to them eating sinners. He especially did not want to think about the correlation of those words to Sin-Eater, specifically.

And he definitely didn’t want to think about how their own kill count was probably fast approaching the serial killer’s, if they hadn’t surpassed it already.

Instead, he did what he always would when he didn’t want to go soul-searching. He shoved the thoughts and fears to the very bottom of his psyche, locking everything away in a box and stomping them all down for good measure. He could feel Venom’s curiosity at the sudden whirl of emotions, and at normal volume he blurted, “Hey, do you wanna get outta here and get, like, a hot dog or something?”

 **_You said we couldn’t eat dogs_** , Venom reminded him, his tone suspicious.

“What? Oh god—No, _no_ , not a real dog,” Eddie groaned, rubbing his Venom-gloved fingers over tired eyelids. “No, it’s food. Processed meat in—”

 ** _YES_** **,** Venom roared. **_Let’s get hot dogs!_**

Eddie sighed inwardly, shaking their head with a smile. “It’s more than just meat, V,” he commented, turning away from Our Lady of Saints. The women from earlier barely spared him a glance as he left, making his way down the street with an easy gait.

Everything was different, now. He didn’t have a gun, this time. He was safer. Healthier. He had _Venom_ in his veins. The thought blossomed into a warm feeling in his chest, of gratefulness and more than a little bit of adoration, and he pushed it at his other. Trying to purposefully send feelings to Venom was still a bit tricky, but from the surge of contentment he got in response, Eddie figured he’d done it right, this time.

As they walked, Eddie idly took note of their surroundings. East Village was still exactly as he remembered. This part, in particular, despite how many years it had been since he’d last set foot in New York. The whole street was quiet, and peaceful, until the bells of the church tolled in the distance.

Venom flinched with him at the sound, loud and booming, signalling the end of mass. A crowd of people flowed out of the large doors, meandering their way out, all smiles and laughs as they connected with their community.

All the same as he remembered it.

 **_Eddie,_ ** Venom started, giving its host a mental nudge. **_Hot dogs._ **

“Right,” Eddie laughed, tearing his eyes away from the people, trying hard to ignore the tolling of bells. “Thanks for keeping us on track, V.”

**_You are welcome. How many hot dogs can we get?_ **

Eddie squinted as he thought, his hand moving to his back pocket to check for his wallet. Still there. Still very light. “Let’s try and find a cheap place, okay? That way we can get more. Five or six, maybe.”

**_Ten. No, twenty. How big are they?_ **

Eddie snorted. “You’re gonna bankrupt us one day, man—”

A scream ripped through the air, and Eddie spun back around to locate the source. Venom tensed over their muscles, gloves extending into small, sharp claws.

The crowd at the church had scattered, families bolting away from the entrance or barricading themselves inside. One man, too slow, was pinned to the sidewalk by a hulking mass of red — Another man, wearing nothing but red clothes. At least, Eddie _thought_ it was a man.

Last he’d checked, though, human men didn’t have _wings._

“What the _hell_ is that?!” Eddie asked, his question unanswered by the panicking passersby.

 **_Bad guy?_ ** Venom asked, hopefully. **_He’s trying to tear that other guy’s face off, Eddie._ **

“Shit,” Eddie floundered as the red-winged man screeched, clearly trying to go after the throat of the man he had in his grasp. “Yes, bad guy, and not at all normal, so probably _very_ bad.” He glanced around wildly, at a loss. They could try to help, but this wasn’t San Francisco. It was also the middle of the damn day. In New York. The Avengers were here.

Well, not _here_ , here, but—

**_Eddie!_ **

“ _Shit,_ ” the reporter hissed. “Okay, okay, dammit, _fine—_ ” He ducked into the nearest alleyway, hands running frantically through his short hair. “Just, no eating his head in front of people, okay? We could get him away from here; maybe find an Avenger to sort this shit out —It’s not our turf, you understand? We can’t just—”

But Venom was already surging over their shared limbs, encasing Eddie in a deep, inky black. Large, opalescent eyes narrowed as their sharp, toothy grin fell into place. “ ** _Look at it this way, Eddie,_** ” Venom rumbled, adrenaline and excitement for the hunt pulsing through them. “ ** _We won’t have to buy as many hot dogs once we eat the man-bird’s head_**.”

Eddie gave the symbiote a loud, frustrated sigh in response. The Avengers weren’t here, and there was no guarantee they would be, or that they would get here in time. Cops probably wouldn’t help much against a guy that could just drop out of the sky, either.

And his wallet would appreciate them spending less.

_Fine. Fine! Let’s go catch ourselves a bad guy._


	2. Fight and Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERR CHRIMAS

As the winged man threw a punch at his pinned prey, a large, pitch-black tendril caught his fist.

“ ** _A man with wings, in front of a church_** ,” Venom growled. “ ** _You look just like those statues at the top._** ”

 _Bud, I am pretty sure that he is not some kinda angel_ , Eddie chimed in.

The winged man glowered at them, wide eyes alight with a sickly gold glow. His face was half-hidden by his high collar, pointed, beak-like nose just poking out above the rim. Despite his mouth being covered, his resounding screech was still clear _—_ high-pitched and sharp, almost like a real bird.

The man he’d been attacking lay prone, his Sunday best torn to shreds by wicked talons. Blood seeped through the deep gashes in his skin, dyeing his clothes as red as those of the beast that stood on his chest.

 _We gotta move fast, V,_ Eddie urged his other.  _That guy’s not gonna last long._

“ ** _This will be over quick_** ,” Venom promised, tugging backward with the attached tendril, drawing the bird-man toward them.

The man in red squawked in alarm, talons scraping along the pavement, wings flapping in a desperate attempt to get away. He slowed the pull, but not enough, coming just in range of Venom’s claws. He let out another shriek as Venom grabbed one of his flailing legs and swung him, slamming him into the street.

“ ** _Will your wings taste like poultry? Or like human flesh?_ **” Venom wondered aloud, grinning broadly before dislocating their jaw, their maw opening wide as they lunged for the bird-man’s throat.

 _NO!_ _Not in front of people! I just told you that!_

Venom’s attack lurched to a halt, and they hissed, “ ** _Fine_ ** **_—_ **”

Then a talon tore the underside of their jaw.

Venom let out an indignant snarl, caught off-guard by the stray limb and releasing their quarry.

The bird-man squirmed out from underneath them, getting his legs under him and quickly leaping into the air. His wings came down hard, and he rapidly made his way up, out of reach. With a glance at his victim, and then another at the growling symbiote, the bird-man turned, flying over the roof of the church to make his escape.

Venom roared, furious.

“ **You!** ” Eddie yelled with their combined voice, pointing at the woman nearest the victim. **“Call an ambulance!** ” At her shakey, numb nod, they gave chase, barreling past the frightened families and other bystanders as they bolted toward the church.

Venom leapt, claws sinking into stone, climbing up the spires to give chase. The symbiote paid no mind to the destruction they caused while ascending, enhanced limbs shattering and scarring the statues of saints as they went.

 _Oh, god,_ Eddie winced as Venom’s foot collided with the statue of Saint Cecilia, beheading her in one blow. _You just_ _—_ _! That was a saint, V! This kinda shit is why I said we’re a sinner!_

“ ** _Statues feel no pain, Eddie!_ ** ” Venom chastised. “ ** _The bird-man is getting away!_ **”

Eddie groaned. He’d just have to add ‘defacing church property’ and ‘accidentally beheading a saint’ to the list. They could deal with the growing guilt squirming in his stomach later.

When they reached the top of the church, Venom jumped to the next building, latching onto a edge just long enough to continue propelling themselves upward. Once on the roof they charged to the opposite end peering over the cityscape to spot their quarry.

There, a red figure flying low, scouting the area. Circling, almost like he was waiting for something.

 _Really leaning into this bird thing, isn’t he?_ Eddie noted. Venom only grunted, hopping up on the edge of the building. _Whoa, wait, what are you doing?_

“ ** _Catching the bad guy_** ,” Venom explained simply.

Realizing just what his other was planning, the reporter felt a wave of panic grip his bones. _No,_ Eddie pleaded. _No no no no NO_ _—_ _!!_

Venom leapt, tongue lolling, grin wide as the air rushed past them. They extended a tendril as they fell, latching onto one of the bird-man’s wings and dragging him down with them. He screamed, flapping desperately, twisting and turning to get out of their grasp.

They crashed onto the roof of a flat, and Venom rose to their feet. “ ** _Got you now_** ,” the symbiote rumbled, free hand flexing their sharpened claws.

 _Please never do that again,_ Eddie begged.

“ ** _No promises, Eddie._ **”

“No—” the bird-man rasped, his voice distorted. “No!”

_Oh, shit, he can speak?_

“Prey...mine!” their foe snarled as he push himself up. The pitch was too high, the word clumsy in his mouth. “Mmmine! My _justice!_ ”

“ ** _Justice will be done, once we snap your spine and slurp up your scrumptious entrails_** ,” Venom countered, body thrumming with anticipation for the meal. They charged at the bird-man, taking a swipe at his face.

He leaned back, just out of range, with what seemed now like practiced ease. Venom’s claws caught on his collar, tearing it down and ripping his shirt.

Eddie recoiled with a shriek of his own, though safe inside Venom. _What the fuck are those?!_

Mandibles, exactly like an insect’s, if it weren’t for the human skin covering them. The extra appendages twitched and stretched away from the bird-man’s mouth. He opened it wide with an enraged shriek.

_What the hell is he?!_

Venom grabbed the bird-man’s coat, holding him aloft. “ ** _Dead, very soon_** ,” the symbiote replied, white eyes wide and eager as he dislocated their jaw again.

The bird-man hacked and heaved in Venom’s hold, until he spat a burning amber liquid right in their face.

Venom _screamed,_ hands covering their face as the liquid seared straight through the symbiote’s skin. They crouched on the rooftop, clutching at their eyes.

 _What was that?!_ Eddie yelled, panicking as the pain was blocked from his senses. _V, what the fuck was that?!_

“ ** _Acid!_ **” Venom hissed. They could hear their quarry’s wings as he retreated, wind rushing past them as he escaped. Venom shook their head, cells healing rapidly, but not fast enough that they were able to see where the bird-man had gotten to.

“Will...Will have... _my justice!_ ”

Through blurry, clouded vision, they could see a bright blob of red against the gray. It shrank as they watched. Smaller, and smaller, until it vanished into the cloud cover completely.

Their vision sharpened, healed, and the bird-man was gone.

Venom roared in frustration.

 _Hey, whoa, easy V,_ Eddie soothed. Or, tried to. His other raged on the rooftop, claws aching to sink into skin. Eddie persisted anyway. _Dude was a bird. Thing._ _I mean, mandibles aren’t really a bird thing, but_ _—_

“ ** _And acid_** ,” Venom growled, hunched and tense. “ ** _A bird-man that spits acid. Bullshit!_** ”

 _Yeah,_ Eddie agreed with a sigh, just glad they were able to see at all, after that attack. Plus, now the guy wasn’t attacking innocent New Yorkers in the street. He corrected his earlier sentiments about the city. One thing was different.

There were way more wackos with superpowers, now.

 _We did chase him outta here,_ Eddie pointed out. _That’s something._

“ ** _Want to rip his mandibles off his jaw_** ,” Venom snarled. “ ** _Snap his head off and watch the acid drain out of his throat_**.”

 _Okay, yes, we can maybe do that if we see him again_ , Eddie assured his other. While he was certain Venom would count hunting as a delightful use of their vacation, he struggled to think of something to calm the symbiote down. Something to get its attention off of the potential murder of a man with feathers. _For now, might be better to leave it to the Avengers. Acid’s pretty, uh…_ he inwardly smirked. _It was a pretty cheep move, gotta say._

Venom paused, responding to the smugness from Eddie’s diction with a swirl of confusion. “... ** _Cheap?_ **”

 _Two e’s,_ Eddie grinned wider within Venom. _Cheep, y’know, like what birds do._

As realization dawned on the symbiote, Venom’s eyes narrowed. “ ** _Eddie._** ”

 _Yes?_ The reporter asked innocently.

Venom retreated into their host, black sinking into skin, until only Eddie Brock remained on the rooftop, grinning, and far too pleased with himself.

**_That joke was fowl._ **

Eddie doubled-over with a cackle.

**_You are lucky we find your sense of humor tolerable._ **

“Yeah, _tolerable_ , sure,” Eddie continued to chuckled as he straightened. “You just don’t wanna admit your humor’s just as bad as mine.”

 **_Our humor_** , Venom corrected with a mental prod. Eddie could feel calm, warm amusement radiating from the symbiote as they settled down, curling around his chest as he laughed.

“Ours, yeah,” Eddie agreed. He placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket, looking around to decide which way to go. Then, he realized.

They were still on the roof.

Eddie’s face fell instantly. “...Seriously, dude? You just gonna leave us up here?”

**_Jump._ **

“Nope,” Eddie stated, already making his way to the staircase that would lead inside the building. “Nuh-uh, absolutely not.”

 **_You wanted to face your fears, did you not_** **_—_ ** **_?_ **

“ _No_ , that was a completely different thing and you know it. You leave us on a roof, I am finding a way to safely _walk_ down,” Eddie declared firmly, testing the doorknob. Locked. The reporter grimaced. “Maybe with like, a fire escape or something. You know I don’t do heights.”

 **_But we do_** , Venom insisted.

“ _You_ do—This is not an ‘us’ thing,” Eddie countered. He begrudgingly walked to the side of the building. Sure enough, a fire escape was set up, only one floor down. He could jump that far. It wasn’t high.

His traitorous legs wobbled at the sight of the ground through the rungs.

 **_Let us do it_** , Venom urged, impatiently taking control of their legs.

“Venom, _no_ _—_ _!_ ”

They leapt off the building, Eddie’s scream locked in his throat. Their legs were encased in black, and they landed easily, though the cement cracked on impact.

Eddie stood there for a moment, breathing hard. “You are gonna give us a fucking heart attack.”

 **_I could fix it_**.

“Not the point, V!” the reporter shouted. “Ugh, god, just—C’mon, I wanna go make sure they actually called an ambulance for that guy.” The black vanished, but Eddie could still feel that he wasn’t completely in control of their legs. Still too wobbly, the bastards.

Venom thrummed with amusement as they walked.

They hadn’t traveled far from the initial attack, finding the church crowd only a street down, huddled around emergency vehicles. As EMTs pulled the victim into the ambulance, Eddie approached, pointedly ignoring the sight of Our Lady of Saints scratched and shattered by symbiote claws.

“Poor soul,” one woman commented, clutching her purse to her chest and leaning on her friend. “Goodness, I’ve never seen atrocities like—and in front of our own _church_ _—_ ”

“I heard they’re taking him to St. Vincent’s,” the friend assured her, rubbing her back. “He should...The doctors there are the very best, I’m sure he’ll be…”

Eddie watched the ambulance pull away, only half-listening.

**_Do you want to follow, Eddie?_ **

“...Nah, it’s New York,” Eddie muttered. He turned away from the crowd, heading for a side street. “I’m sure the Avengers will hear about bird-brain and take him out. We don’t have to worry about it.”

 **_Didn’t get to eat,_ ** Venom reminded him. **_Hungry._ **

“We’ll try down by the docks. Plenty of bad guys there for you to munch on.” He shrugged as they walked, ignoring the glances he got as he talked to himself. They didn’t spare him a second, anyway.

 **_Fine_** , his other acquiesced. **_But first, you promised us hot dogs._ **


	3. Times Square

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and V walk around New York City, like proper tourists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is where we see that I love movie canon just retconning all the stuff with Spider-Man. I have no idea what they're planning for eventual Spidey vs. Venom stuff, so for the sake of this fic, Eddie has never interacted with him before.

Eddie felt almost giddy as he walked around Times Square, entirely unbothered by the multitudes of honking taxis and incessant chatter of the people around him. It was a familiar energy. Active. His gut held a calm, sated feeling to it, instead of his usual cold itch of anxiety. He felt entirely at ease. Satisfied.

Though, that feeling could just be Venom digesting those drug traffickers from last night.

“You’re in a great mood today,” he observed, avoiding eye contact with the passersby.

**_We had a good hunt, Eddie,_ ** Venom reminded him, their voice rumbling warmly.

Eddie could feel the symbiote, squirming contentedly into the curve of his rib cage, stretching like a lazy cat in the sunshine. He smiled, rubbing the spot through the pocket of his jacket. The contented buzz in the back of his head grew louder.

“Is that all you care about?” Eddie asked, feigning insult. “I take you all the way across America, to the place that ran me out of town _solely_ so you can sightsee, and all you wanna talk about is food?”

**_Tasty food_** , Venom argued.

Eddie scoffed, grinning in spite of himself.

**_This place is more crowded than it appears on television,_ ** the symbiote commented.

“Ah, so you _are_ paying attention,” Eddie chuckled, looking around, dodging people as they walked. Most places were littered with in advertisements, shrinking the otherwise huge area. Screens blocked most of the skyline, as well as the towering skyscrapers, covered almost to the top in claims for the best clothing stores. The best makeup. The best way to spend your time. Their eyes roved over billboards showcasing the latest broadway musicals, and Venom pulled them to a halt.

**_Annie?_ ** the symbiote questioned as they looked over an advertisement featuring a grinning, red-headed girl. **_She looks nothing like Anne._ **

“It’s a play,” Eddie elaborated with a shrug. He gestured lamely at the ad. “Y’know, some people like to come here and watch musicals, instead of forcing their host to stop at every food truck they see.”

Venom’s dismissive grunt reverberated in their chest. **_They are missing out._ **

The reporter let his head drop down as he laughed. “At least you’re easy to please.”

Venom took advantage of the pause, poking a small head out from under Eddie’s jacket, nestled between the lining and their host’s abdomen. Wide, pale eyes gazed up at Eddie, before scrunching up as the symbiote grinned.

‘ _Cute,_ ’ Eddie thought, barely surprised at himself anymore. Riot had been the ugliest damn thing he’d ever seen, yes, but that opinion didn’t extend to all symbiotes, and certainly not his own. Not anymore, now that Venom’s grin was so keenly associated with the both of them enjoying themselves. He smiled back, his head canting to the side in amusement. “Having fun?”

The symbiote nudged Eddie’s stomach, nuzzling, before vanishing again. **_Yes_** , Venom affirmed, **_but also, hungry._ **

Eddie stood straight again, tilting his head up at the sky as he sighed. “Of course you are.”

The sound of an engine, far louder than the cars sluggishly driving past, drew the reporter’s attention. He frowned, turning in place, trying to locate the source as it grew louder. Around him, the crowd looked around, too, concern on the faces of even the locals.

A high, giddy cackle rang out above the pedestrians.

**_What the hell is that?_ **

A green man sporting gaudy, purple clothes flew into view. He balanced on a rocket-propelled glider, weaving in and around buildings as he laughed.

“Uh,” Eddie responded eloquently, staring blatantly at the man in the sky. “That is a very good question, V.” As the man sped closer, Eddie ducked along with the crowd, narrowly avoiding being hit by the glider. “ _Jesus!_ ”

**_Another bad guy_** , Venom determined, catching sight of the pointy-eared man harassing other pedestrians, nearly colliding with several before ascending again.

“I dunno, could be a publicity stunt,” Eddie countered, straightening. They watched as the glider circled around, almost impressed at the man’s balance. “New York’s pretty weird—”

The man threw an orange, pumpkin-shaped ball at a billboard overhead, which exploded on impact.

“Okay, _yeah,_ bad guy.”

**_Mask?_ ** Venom asked, inner voice booming, drowning out the shrieks of the people around them.

Eddie grimaced, the damaged billboard creaking ominously. There wasn’t time to find a back alley to suit up. Someone would have a cell phone out, in all likelihood. He didn’t want them caught on camera—

Their heart lurched as the billboard fell.

“ _No!_ ” Eddie yelled, black rushing over their outstretched hand—

Only to jolt to a stop, as the billboard was caught mid-air.

Baffled, Eddie looked higher, at a series of shimmering white strings attached to the falling debris. It held tight, providing them ample time to back up and get out of the way.

**_What is that, Eddie?_ ** Venom questioned.

“Cables?” Eddie guessed, confused. They’d come out of nowhere, criss-crossing over each other to better secure the billboard in a bizarrely familiar sight. The memory of a headline came to mind, from an article he’d read after he left New York. Innocents saved from falling debris, held up in just the same way.

**_Not cables_**.

“Webs—?”

A cheer erupted from the crowd as a second man flew into view, dressed in a red and blue bodysuit, web-pattern stretching over lean muscle. He swung between buildings, more webs shooting from his wrists, giving chase as his gliding foe bolted in the opposite direction.

“Oh,” Eddie huffed, recognition dawning on him. “Spider-Man.”

**_Good guy?_ ** Venom asked, prodding around their host’s memories of the man in the spider suit.

“Yeah, definitely,” Eddie clarified. As Spider-Man vaulted above them, the reporter clapped along with the crowd. He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting. “Kick his ass, Spidey!”

**_The article you read called him a ‘vigilante,’_ ** Venom commented.

“Yeah, well,” Eddie placed his hands back in his pockets, relaxing as the superpowered duo disappeared behind the skyscrapers. “Some people think that. Pretty sure he’s in with the Avengers now, or something. He fights bad guys.”

**_So, he is like us._ **

The reporter turned his gaze back to the billboard, now safely dangling high above the sidewalk. His thought, in the moment, had been to simply shield themselves, and others nearby when the hunks of metal fell. Now, seeing smaller pieces that had been blasted off _also_ kept high above, away from peoples’ surprisingly squishy heads, he sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I dunno, V,” he muttered, dubious, unsure if they would have thought to catch the shrapnel. “This is more like his job; he’s on a whole other level.”

**_We could take him,_ ** Venom pointed out, unphased. Studying the sturdy webbing, their shared eyes narrowed. **_Those look simple enough to make._ **

“You could do that?”

**_Easily._ ** Then, the symbiote surged with excitement, veins of black stretching along Eddie’s hands. **_We could swing above the streets, too._ **

“And I am gonna stop you _right there_ ,” Eddie stated, turning away from the sight and continuing their walk. He jerked a finger down at the sidewalk, gesturing along with his words. “There is absolutely no way in _hell_ we are doing that.”

**_But, Eddie—_ **

“ _No,_ ” he insisted. “We’re not gonna swing around New York like Spider-Man. We’re not cut out for that — In fact, who _was_ it that shot down my childhood dream of being a superhero, huh? I seem to remember that was _you._ ”

**_You could not be a superhero_** , Venom answered firmly. **_But we could. Together._ **

Eddie paused, only to be shoved out of the way by an annoyed woman trying to walk past him. He paid her no mind, more engrossed with Venom’s proposal.

“...Really?” he asked, barely believing in the idea as the question left his mouth. Fighting assholes in back alleys was one thing, but actual heroism? Daring-do? The reporter cast a glance at a group of teenagers, comparing footage of the avenger’s antics on their phones. New videos of Spider-Man were surely getting uploaded right now. He’d probably be trending, soon.

**_They’d talk about our heroics, Eddie. We already do good. We only have to do it with people watching._ **

Eddie contemplated the group for a moment longer, before snorting dismissively. “We eat people,” he corrected quietly. “Pretty sure that falls under mortal sin, y’know? Kinda breaks the whole ‘thou shalt not kill’ rule.”

**_The what?_ **

“It’s in the bible — Have you not checked my head for this religious shit?” he groused. “I may not be great at explaining it, but I’m sure the info’s still in there.”

**_Your thoughts on the matter are mangled, at best_** , Venom grunted.

“Okay, yes,” Eddie admitted with a nod at no one. He gave up on trying to continue maneuvering through the crowd. Neither of them were paying attention to the sights, anyway. Instead, he moved out of the way, leaning his back against the wall of a restaurant, under the guise of people-watching. “Yes, but again, the whole people-eating deal is the sort of thing that falls under being a sinner.”

He got a few glances for that one.

**_We are only eating bad people, Eddie. Ones that would want to harm good people. The good cancel out the bad._ **

“That is not even close to how the bible works, man,” Eddie laughed.

**_You don’t even know how the bible works!_** Venom argued with a snarl. The reporter felt a petulant nudge at the side of his head. **_You don’t believe half of what is in here anymore._**

“C’mon, I’m sure there’s something useful—”

**_You kept three things and none of them are helpful._ **

“...Three?” Eddie questioned. Three things. A holy number. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. He grimaced at the connection, wishing vainly that the lessons pounded into him during his childhood could just stay dead and buried. Still, he’d expected more to carry over. “There’s really only three?”

**_You believe that there is justice in your world,_ ** Venom pointed out. **_You believe you are owed some sort of reward, if you live a life of being good._ **

Eddie felt his stomach squirm, hearing it, physically shifting against the wall as if the motion would remove the feelings. The memories. He couldn’t deny the first point. It was where their rule of ‘only eat bad guys’ came from, after all. “I wouldn’t say I’m _owed—_ ”

**_You also have lots...and lots of guilt_ ** , Venom interrupted. **_For no reason._ **

Eddie opened his mouth to retort when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out with a frown, only to then smirk at the caller id. “Speaking of guilt.”

**_In her case, you deserve it._ **

“Ass,” Eddie huffed at the symbiote, and then answered the phone. “Hey, Annie.”

“ _Eddie what the_ **_hell_ ** _did you do?!_ ”

The reporter recoiled from the shouting on the other end of the line. “Uh,” he glanced to the side, like he could direct his confused expression at Venom.

The symbiote responded with the equivalent of a mental shrug. **_Considering your track record, you likely have done something. Did you forget?_ **

“I’m gonna need a little more context before I can answer that.”

“ _It’s all over the headlines!_ ” Anne yelled, exasperated. “ _Cannibal Hits New York — Partially eaten bodies found in East Village, Eddie, really?!_ ”

“Wha—We didn’t—” Eddie caught himself at the last moment, eyes narrowing.

He hadn’t told Anne yet that Venom survived the explosion. That he’d been carrying the symbiote, safe and sound, for months now.

She shouldn’t know they were back to a diet of human heads.

“...Anne,” he started softly, “Are you seriously accusing me of cannibalism?” He’d ignore the fact that he was just discussing the matter with his symbiote.

“ _Oh, cut the crap, Eddie. You don’t go on vacation — did you seriously expect me to believe that?_ ” Anne asked, though it was clear she didn’t intend for her ex to answer. “ _Plus, you just said 'we,' so I'm right._ _You have Venom. He was still alive, wasn’t he? He’s been alive the whole time, and you lied to me. You lied right to my face._ ”

Eddie withheld a sigh of defeat, rubbing his eyelids with his fingertips. So much for keeping it a secret. He knew that tone. There was absolutely no bullshitting her, at this point. Not with the lawyer voice out and ready to eviscerate his excuses faster than Venom could bite through spinal chords.

“...Yeah,” he dragged out, wincing.

“ _You are such an asshole._ ”

“Annie, listen, he’s—we’re not—” Eddie flailed.

“ ** _We didn’t eat anyone in East Village_** ,” Venom answered for them both.

“ _Oh my god,_ ” Anne breathed from the other end, her voice distorted, like she’d covered her mouth with a hand. “ _God, you’re really still inside him._ ”

“ ** _Yes,_** ” Venom confirmed. “ ** _We are sightseeing._** ”

“ _Right, sure, that’s great,”_ Anne stated quickly, though the edge of anger in her voice made it plenty apparent that it was the absolute furthest thing from great. _“Can I talk to just Eddie, please?_ ”

Eddie coughed, vocal cords raspy as Venom retreated. He patted his ribs where his symbiote sulked, consoling them. “Annie, he’s not lying, I promise. We didn’t eat anybody in East Village.” Despite the strain in it, he kept his tone firm. It wasn’t technically a lie. Not really. They’d only eaten people at the docks. Totally different area. “Besides, we’ve barely been here a week, and they’re saying it’s a cannibal? For sure? Who published the article?”

“ _The Daily Globe._ ”

The reporter’s stomach dropped. There was no way the Globe would publish such a wild accusation without evidence. Not after the shit he pulled with Sin-Eater. No, they’d need some kind of proof — Something solid, concrete, left behind by the culprit. A first-hand witness, or a smoking gun.

They’d stopped putting too much faith in their reporters, after him.

‘ _Did we leave evidence?_ ’ Eddie thought, mind a whirl as he thought back to the drug traffickers. He couldn’t remember much, usually opting to let Venom handle the actual act. He mentally nudged the symbiote in question, wondering if they’d spotted something. Held a clue in their shared memory.

Venom provided him with blurry faces. The sound of screaming. The ripping of muscles and tendons. An arterial spray, painting the wall of the warehouse in streaks. Their own body, towering and tall, singing with adrenaline. Venom practically purring as they swallowed bone and blood and brains. Marrow sliding down their throat.

No one escaped.

“ _Eddie, if that was you and Venom, I swear—_ ”

“It wasn’t!” he blurted. “It wasn’t, Annie, I promise—Swear on my mother's grave, it wasn’t us!”

That, at least, seemed to pacify her. “... _Fine. Just...The police are looking for a cannibal, and I know how Venom likes to, um…_ ” she trailed off, discomfort almost palpable, even on the other side of the country. “ _Just promise you’ll be careful, okay?_ ”

“Yeah. Yeah, we will,” Eddie affirmed. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“ _Good. Be safe,_ ” Anne paused, giving Eddie the distinct impression she was choosing her next words very, very carefully. “... _Both of you._ ”

Eddie felt Venom perk up, fondness bleeding from the symbiote’s side of their emotions. **_Her concern is nice. Tell her it’s nice, Eddie._ **

“Thank you for worrying about us, Annie,” Eddie managed. “I’m gonna look into it—”

**_WE will look into it._ **

“—I’ll text you later with what I find out.” At Anne’s begrudging farewell, and another warning reminding him to make good decisions, Eddie hung up the phone. He stared at the screen for a moment, chewing his lower lip as he thought. “V.”

**_Yes, Eddie._ **

“We’re gonna have to put a pause on the hunting.”

He could feel Venom’s groan more than he heard it, their bones vibrating with the force of it.  



	4. Fluff and Fervor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and V get some unwelcome news (but are largely unphased), and a new player enters the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have literally no excuse for the first part of this chapter beyond wanting to write some Venom fluff

Eddie groaned as he woke up in his hotel bed, reaching up to rub at his eyes, bracelets slipping down his wrist and over dark, black veins. He could feel his symbiote’s presence, safe under his skin, branched out in their shared body. Blinking rapidly, Eddie groggily attempted to kick start his brain and find his phone. Hand flailing over the bed, eyes screwed shut against the light filtering through the gaps in the blinds, he found the device just to his side. Plugged in, thankfully.

He didn’t remember plugging his phone in. In fact, he was fairly positive they’d gotten into the room and he’d immediately crashed. The discomfort of his jeans still constricting his legs confirmed this for him.

Venom must have plugged it in.

“Thanks, bud,” he muttered, though the symbiote didn’t stir. Eddie paid it no mind, for now, comfortable in the warm sheets and alien embrace. Squinting against the bright screen, he grimaced at the notification of a text from Anne.

Tired and confused, he opened it, only to see the link to a news article, and the words ‘YOU HAD ONE JOB!!!’

A small, baffled noise left his throat as he clicked the link. It opened to a headline on the digital version of _The Daily Globe._

EAST VILLAGE CANNIBAL STRIKES AGAIN

“Oh fuck,” Eddie breathed. A brief scan of the article told him the killer had slaughtered and partially eaten two more victims the night before. Based on the timeline, he knew he was sleeping by then, exhausted from walking all over the city to various food stands.

Venom, though, didn’t need to sleep.

Eddie’s eyes stopped registering the words on the screen as his brain tried to catch up and make sense of it. He was asleep during the murders. Venom likely wasn’t, and was hungry. Always.

As much as he usually dragged their feet about snacking on bad guys, Eddie hadn’t really been _denying_ the symbiote much, lately. It was easier to just let Venom do their thing, as long as it was only eating bad guys.

What if Venom had decided to go out last night?

His stomach, blanketed by symbiote, went cold. He began to poke and prod the black veins of his arm, nudging the bits of Venom he could see. “Hey—hey, you sleeping? I need you to wake up. Like now.” The black retracted, following the flow toward his chest.

**_What._ **

Eddie ignored the annoyance in the grunt, tapping his phone with a finger. “You didn’t, uh...You didn’t happen to take our body out for a little joyride last night or anything, did you?” He tried to keep his tone even, but with the article staring him in the face, it was a losing battle. “No midnight snacks, or anything?”

**_No._ **

Eddie’s relief was instantaneous. Not him. Not Venom. They were in the clear. “No,” he repeated, rubbing at his eyes again. “No, okay. Okay, good.” With a soft sigh, he dropped his phone back on the bed.

Crisis averted.

Though, now that he knew what Venom _wasn’t_ doing last night, curiosity got the better of him. “So what did you do?” Eddie asked, rolling onto his back to address the otherwise empty room. He folded his hands over his chest, feeling the symbiote squirm out and in between his fingers. “Internet?”

 **_Yes_** , Venom confirmed, their voice softer than usual. **_Watched cat videos. Then got bored, and slept._ **

Eddie smirked. That explained the sleepy symbiote. “Cat videos?” he chuckled. “Seriously?”

 **_Cats are amusing_** , Venom argued. **_Much like you._ **

“Oh, so I’m a cat now.”

 **_No, too clumsy,_ ** the symbiote scoffed, a tendril poking out of Eddie’s collarbone to flick him on the nose. **_You would fall flat on our face without us._ **

Eddie smirked, lifting a hand to trail the tendril through his fingers. “Did we or did we not just fall a whole bunch the other day?”

 **_That was different_** , Venom protested. **_That was in battle, and we landed safely._ **

“Right, right,” Eddie lilted, twisting a bit of Venom. “You got us, huh?”

The tendril tightened, and the section of symbiote on Eddie’s chest coiled around him, squeezing. **_Yes. Always._ **

“Aww. Sweetheart,” Eddie commented with a grin, rubbing his free hand over smooth, alien skin. “It’s nice having you looking out for me.”

**_You are uncoordinated and easily broken, so we have to._**

Eddie’s hands lifted off the symbiote, raising them high over his head as he glowered. “I take it back, asshole. See if I ever call you sweetheart again.”

Venom lifted several tendrils at once, merging together at the end to form their face. The symbiote shot a self-satisfied grin at their host, opalescent eyes gleaming with mirth. “ ** _It is an inaccurate descriptor, anyway._** _”_

“Oh yeah?” Eddie questioned. “And why’s that?”

“ ** _You are the sweet one, Eddie._** ”

The reporter’s lips quirked up again, unexpectedly touched at the compliment. “Seriously? You—”

“ ** _All of your organs are delicious_** ,” Venom concluded, and then, as if to illustrate their point, dragged their tongue up Eddie’s neck, flattening it over his cheek and licking all the way to his hairline.

Eddie yelled, loudly, squirming as he laughed and tried to maneuver away from the drool, only to be held in place by more ropes of symbiote. “Alright, yep, it’s official! I fucking hate you!”

“ ** _You can’t lie to us when we are in your head,_** ” Venom pointed out. “ ** _Besides, we are only stating facts._** ”

Eddie quit struggling, though still laughing as he rubbed his cheek on his shoulder to remove the excess drool. “The fact is, you’re gross.”

Venom clicked their tongue. “ ** _Lying again, Eddie._** ”

A pang of a memory jolted Eddie more awake. Lying again. Always lying. The reporter who tricked the police into arresting the wrong man.

Eddie the Liar.

God, he hated being in New York. Too many bad memories reawakening, unbidden. He shook his head to disperse the thought. He hadn’t lied. Not then. And not now, when he told Anne they hadn’t eaten anyone in East Village.

Except, he hadn’t texted her back yet.

Eddie shifted directing a frown at Venom, giving a little tug on the tendrils binding him. “Can I get my arms back, please?” The symbiote couldn’t roll their eyes, but he felt the sentiment of it through their bond as Venom released him. Eddie reached to grab his phone again.

“ ** _The cannibal,_** ” Venom observed, their head softly landing on top of Eddie’s, peering down at the article.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t us, so…” Eddie trailed off, brows furrowing as he scrolled. There weren’t any clues as to who the murderer might be, yet. Just dismembered bodies, torn limb from limb. Deep gashes in their chests and faces were the cited cause of death, which ruled them out completely in Eddie’s mind. Venom didn’t waste time clawing people to death. Faster to just chomp their head off, whole.

“ ** _Messy eater_** ,” Venom chastised. “ ** _Wasteful._** ”

“How do they know it’s a cannibal, though?” Eddie questioned, skimming. “And not some like, weird mutated animal from the sewer—Oh.” He paused over a paragraph. “Oh. Human bite marks on the remains. Yeah, that’d do it.”

“ ** _Obviously not us_** ,” Venom huffed. “ ** _Our teeth are much better suited to hunting._** ”

“I’m sure that’ll be of great comfort to Annie,” Eddie smirked, moving to text her back.

‘I was asleep all night and V was watching cat videos. Also, human bite marks???’

He frowned as he sent the text. There really was a second cannibal in New York. A human one. His insides twisted, wholly uncomfortable with the idea. It wouldn’t be the first cannibal serial killer, not by a long shot, but they were largely unheard of. The worst possible taboo. Murdering innocent people only to gnaw on them afterward. It made his skin crawl.

It also meant they still couldn’t hunt. They’d have to keep laying low, and he’d have to supplement Venom’s appetite without any heads. Which meant spending more money. He could almost feel the physical pain his wallet must be experiencing.

But, Venom had to eat.

He started pulling up his bank account, to double-check the funds, pursing his lips as he pondered their options. _Maybe we could get sneakier_ , he mused. _This cannibal is pretty messy. We just have to not leave evidence…_

They could wait until his wallet was drained, at least. Hopefully, the cops would catch the cannibal sooner rather than later, and people wouldn’t be so hyper-vigilant about someone going around and munching on civilians. At least, they wouldn't be looking for...them.

Eddie sighed through his nose. They weren't much better, really. Eating people for fuel rather than some sick, sadistic pleasure was marginally better, but it was still technically murder, if he thought about it. Or at least, it would be seen as such. If Venom was caught, they'd be just as much a monster as the madman terrorizing East Village, wouldn't they? Would the public see them as someone protecting the peace, ridding the world of bad guys, or as yet another serial killer?

_God, what a mess._

His phone pinged as he received another text from Anne. A simple, ‘Okay GOOD.’ Then, an almost instant follow-up: ‘Also Dan says don’t let V atrophy your heart again.’

“ ** _I fixed that!_** _”_ Venom snarled, indignant.

Eddie smirked, both amused and grateful for a distraction, dropping his phone back on the bed to run his hand over an errant tendril. “Hey, Dan’s a pretty smart guy,” he argued, smiling at Venom as it moved to face him. “And Annie—She’s just being protective, y’know? Doesn’t want me in a relationship where I’m just gonna get my heart broken again.” He grinned, rubbing Venom’s cheek with his thumb, sending affection through their bond even as he sassed the other. His grin widened as he felt Venom’s annoyance in return. He placed his other hand over his chest, feigning great pain as he looked dolefully up at his symbiote. “You did, y’know. You literally broke my heart.”

“ ** _I fixed it!!_** _”_

Eddie laughed, and he felt Venom relax marginally at the sound. “Yeah. Yeah, you did.”

* * *

“Okay, yeah, I know it _looks_ bad online, but—”

“Peter.”

Peter Parker flinched, shrinking under the gaze of a pissed off, thoroughly disappointed Tony Stark. The man’s arms were tight across his chest, crinkling unsightly creases in an otherwise perfectly pressed suit. Peter gripped his mask anxiously in his hands, ash drifting down from his singed suit and dirtying the beautifully polished floor of the Avenger’s Tower. “Mr. Stark—”

“You let Green Goblin get away,” Tony stated flatly. “ _Again._ ”

“He has a _flying machine!_ ” Peter protested. “I’m trying to keep up with a rocket-propelled flying machine with web-slinging! I mean I haven’t clocked how fast I can go with the webs, but it’s not—He's got _bombs_ and—”

“Kid, it doesn’t _matter_ ,” Tony stopped him with an exasperated sigh. He gestured to the spider symbol on Peter’s suit. “You know what it looks like, for Spider-Man? To Fury?” He grimaced. “It looks like you’re still not ready to be in the big leagues.”

Peter’s hand covered the spider on his chest in defense. “I am ready!” he argued. “I don’t need training wheels anymore, Mr. Stark—I took down _Vulture_ , didn’t I?”

“Barely,” Tony acknowledged. “By the skin of your teeth. And very much against everything I told you to do.”

“But I—”

Tony sighed again, clamping a hand onto Peter’s shoulder. “Listen. Fury wants you to start smaller, alright? Let the Avengers handle the crazy goblins on rockets, and you stick to being everybody’s friendly neighborhood superhero.”

Peter deflated. All this effort. Mastering his use of his suit (kinda), perfecting his web-slinging (sorta), and tracking down the nefarious Green Goblin, all for naught. “I can _handle_ it,” he said quietly, and most definitely not with a petulant pout.

“Yeah, well, Fury disagrees, and so do I.” Tony gave the boy’s shoulder a pat before letting go. He grimaced at Peter’s dejected gaze, only to slowly, begrudgingly, continue. “That’s why you’re getting your own mission, not involving any enemies with super suits. Fury wants you to get some more hands-on experience before tossing you back in the fire.”

Peter’s head raised slowly, almost suspicious of the sudden boon. “My own mission?”

Tony pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “ _The Daily Globe’s_ reporting that there’s a cannibal somewhere in East Village,” he explained, displaying the headline. “No powers involved, as far as they can tell. Just your average, run-of-the-mill serial killer.”

“A run-of-the—” Peter paused, brown eyes widening at the report. He looked up at Tony, his face a mix of disgust and concern. “There’s someone in New York going around _eating_ people?”

“Yeah, all-in-all, not great for the city.” Tony placed his phone back in the pocket of his jacket, and then pointed to the boy before him. “That’s why _you_ are being tasked with assisting the police in tracking him down.”

“Okay,” Peter straightened, emboldened by the responsibility. Even if a cannibal was more disturbing than anything he’d faced yet. Even if his stomach was churning at the thought. Eating people. Ugh. His free hand tightened into a fist.

It was still _his_ mission. Direct from Fury.

“I can do it.”

Tony nodded. “Good. Get to it, then.”

“So…” Peter trailed off. “Where, uh, where do I start with tracking this guy down, exactly?”

The other man raised an eyebrow. “How should I know?” he asked, moving to walk past Peter and to the door behind him. He mussed the boy’s hair as he left. “That’s your job, now, kid.”


	5. A Cannibal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom gets impatient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a gore warning for this chapter! Imo it's not like, super crazy explicit (since I'm not huge into gore and don't really know how to write it), but just want y'all to be aware.

Days later, and there was another body in the news.

**_Eddie._ **

Days later, and Eddie Brock was sitting at the minuscule desk in his hotel room, hunched over his laptop, trying very hard to write an article that was in no way associated with cannibalism. Something to do with the local dog park. A fluff piece. Easy money.

**_Eddie._ **

He was also trying to ignore the persistent, aggravating twist of his gut. That deep, agonizing gnawing sensation in his stomach, threatening to consume itself, if not rebel and consume other nearby organs in protest.

**_EDDIE._ **

“ _Yes,_ V, I hear you!” the reporter snapped, slamming the lid of his laptop shut. “You’re hungry! I know! I got it - Message received!”

 **_Then why have we not gotten food?_ ** the symbiote demanded.

Eddie ran his hands over his face with an annoyed sigh, and then opted to press his head into the heels of his palms. His elbows poked into his thighs, almost painful enough to distract him. “I know what you actually mean is ‘Why aren’t we out hunting people yet,’ and I also know that you know the _answer_ to that particular question.”

 **_We need to eat_** , Venom protested. **_We cannot survive off of your kind’s cuisine alone._ **

“Are you telling me that New York-style pizza, widely considered some of the very best in the whole world, isn’t _enough_ for you, V?” Eddie asked, a sarcastic bite to his voice.

 **_Don’t use that tone with me_** , the symbiote scolded. Before Eddie could retort, the reporter’s limbs went rigid, forcing him to sit up straight as Venom formed a head outside their shared body. The symbiote glared at its host, razor-sharp teeth just inches away from Eddie’s face. “ ** _You are hungry, too._** ”

“Right, yeah, well, I’m _so_ sorry for snapping,” Eddie hissed out, the angry tone in question very much still in use, more so out of Eddie’s own complete lack of self-preservation instinct, rather than genuine spite. “I’m just a _little_ on edge at the moment considering that the East Village cannibal is still out there and _someone_ doesn’t seem to understand what ‘laying low’ means.”

It was just their luck, really, that the cops would be this incompetent at catching a cannibal. Days and days of waiting, hoping that the bastard would get caught and all the paranoia would die down, so they wouldn’t end up with the Avengers on their ass if they finally fed.

“ ** _Laying low is bullshit_** ,” Venom snarled.

“Maybe we’re just fucking cursed,” Eddie suggested. “This is probably punishment for when you knocked the head off a saint.”

“ ** _A carved stone_** ,” the symbiote corrected, eyes narrowing.

“It’s symbolic!” Eddie argued, finding that Venom had let go of the grip on his limbs as he gestured wildly. “It’s supposed to represent the person in question, and most of them died in super fucked up ways _—_ such as, y’know, _beheading_.”

“ ** _Not our fault your kind likes to glorify rocks._** ”

“Yeah, well, we probably still earned some bad karma for that shit,” Eddie grumbled, leaning back to cross his arms and sulk in his computer chair. It tilted precariously, in danger of toppling right to the floor. His glare remained, even as his symbiote extended a few tendrils to latch onto the desk, to counterbalance themselves.

“ ** _We could be out rectifying that, by eating bad guys_** ,” Venom pointed out with a tilt of their suspended head. “ ** _Would that not improve our karma?_ **”

“Not while there’s a _cannibal;_ how many times do I have to tell you _—_?!”

The symbiote snarled in frustration. “ ** _Why don’t we just eat the cannibal?!_ **”

Eddie’s argument screeched to a halt at the outburst, taking him a few seconds to register his body-mate’s point. “...Wait, what?”

Venom growled low, annoyed that they had to repeat themselves. “ _ **Why. Don’t we. Eat. The cannibal** ,_” they suggested again, speaking slowly so Eddie’s stupid human brain could catch up.

The reporter narrowed his eyes. “If we get caught, people will just assume we’ve been the guy from the papers the whole time.”

“ ** _Won’t get caught_** ,” Venom insisted. “ ** _Won’t leave evidence. Then, there will be no more cannibal, and we will be able to hunt again._** ”

“No, they’ll still need someone to point fingers at, and I don’t want it to be us.” He’d sent the police after the wrong man before. He didn’t want to end up on the other end of something like that, again. Just getting rid of the cannibal wouldn’t be enough, for the public. They needed to see the guy arrested. In jail. Punished. Then everyone would be able to sleep easy, and Venom could hunt without the risk of of people searching for them.

“ ** _Would be doing the city a favor if we get rid of him!_ **” Venom persisted with a hiss, though the reporter could feel the thoughts focused more on food and blood and brains, rather than the glory they were promising.

An idea struck Eddie then, as he stared at his frustrated symbiote. An idea he wouldn’t normally entertain, were he not currently housing an alien that could give them the combined brute force of say, a superhero. The Avengers themselves wouldn’t be concerned with a case like this — this was police work, and the police were failing. No leads, no suspects. They needed _help_ to catch this guy.

Help that _Venom_ could give them.

“What if,” he started, a grin stretching across his face. “What if we catch him? We can’t eat the guy yet, ‘cause the police need to be able to parade him around in front of the press, but we’d get rid of him _that_ way—”

“ ** _And then we hunt?_ **” the symbiote finished, their own, toothy grin widening.

“Carefully, once he’s outta the picture, yeah,” Eddie stipulated, relaxing. “Maybe let’s not turn him in _as_ Venom, either.” Tipping off the Avengers that he had a symbiotic partner that had a penchant for eating people wasn’t exactly ideal. Their usual methods of ‘helping’ were probably pretty frowned upon, in fact.

Catching a serial killer as _Eddie Brock_ , however?

He sort of owed New York a real one, at this point.

Eddie rocked his chair back into position, Venom detaching their tendrils from the desk as he did, sinking delightedly back under his skin. He grabbed his wallet, with his hotel key. “Alright, bud. Let’s go cut this manhunt short, shall we?” he asked, heading for the door, and feeling the symbiote eagerly nudging his legs to move faster.

* * *

As it turned out, hunting down a man-eater was distinctly easier said than done.

Venom, fully-formed, leapt from one rooftop to the next, scouring the streets below while simultaneously trying to stay out of sight. Their skin blended nicely into the black of the night sky, but Eddie still exercised some caution any time they strayed too close to the city’s glittering lights.

“ ** _You worry too much_** ,” Venom rumbled, slinking behind a billboard.

 _Yeah, story of my life,_ Eddie shot back. _We’ve been looking all day; you really wanna cut into our sleep, too?_

“ ** _We still haven't found the cannibal._** ”

 _If he’s even still in East Village_ , the reporter groused. That could be why the police were having such a hard time. Guy might’ve skipped town, already. Could be searching for snacks in another state.

Frankly, it was something they should probably do, themselves.

_Maybe we should just get outta New York, V. Go home, or hunt someplace else._

Venom growled at the notion. “ ** _We do whatever we want_** ,” he reminded the reporter. “ ** _We will catch this asshole, and roam freely, however we wish._** ”

 _Yeah, sure,_ Eddie grumbled, _however you wish._

“ ** _We_** ,” the symbiote corrected. “ ** _You also wish to catch them._** ”

Eddie nearly retorted that, actually, what he wanted to do right now was curl up in their hotel bed and pass out for the evening, but his pride stopped his tongue.

He did want to catch the guy, really. It’d be great for his rep. A redemption, in a way. And, much as he gave his symbiote shit for killing his childhood dream, a small, hopeful part of him still clutched tightly to the naive idea of heroism. Him, Eddie Brock. A hero.

Them, Venom, a _superhero_.

 _Okay fine, you got me_ , Eddie conceded. _But maybe we can just, I don’t know, do more research and pick this up tomorrow—?_

A whooshing noise above them had Venom crane his head up, expecting the sight of some other super-powered hero combing the city streets.

Instead, they saw red.

Red wings, red body, like a massive bird gliding through the night. In its talons, a dark, human-shaped figure, dangling limp and lifeless. Together they flew, until the bird-man alighted on a far off rooftop, vanishing from view with his prey.

“ ** _That guy_** ,” Venom sneered, tongue rolling out of their mouth. “ ** _Should follow him Eddie. Rip him to pieces_**.”

Though the reporter was certain his symbiote just wanted revenge for getting acid spat in their face, he couldn’t help but agree. _Whatever he is, looked like he was carrying somebody. Let’s check it out._

Venom leapt into action, running in the direction of the bird-man.

They caught up quickly, finding their quarry had stopped, bending low over the man he’d been carrying. Blood pooled beneath the body.

“ ** _You again._** ”

The bird-man looked up, his features only half-lit by the neon lights across the street. Bloodied mandibles stretched from his mouth, bits of skin and what Eddie could recognize, at this point, as a chunk of human liver in his teeth. Yellow eyes locked onto them, glowing bright with a kind of righteous fury at being interrupted during his meal.

_Holy shit, the cannibal is bird-brain?!_

Venom grinned broadly, claws extended. “ ** _Perfect. Two nuisances for the price of one_**.”

The bird-man stood, with legs still somewhat bent, clearly readying himself to leap into the sky. He threw his head back, guzzling the organs into his gullet, before swallowing thickly.

_Gross. That’s not what we look like when we eat people, is it?_

“ ** _I told you, we are not so messy_**.”

The bird-man’s eyes narrowed, head canting sharply to the side as he watched them. “What...are you?” he croaked. “You, are you,” he twitched, “...Like me?”

“ ** _We are Venom_** ,” the symbiote answered.

“ **The hell are you supposed to be, anyway?** ” Eddie asked aloud, though their combined voice remained the same. “ **Some sort of demented vulture?** ”

“ ** _Regardless_** ,” Venom continued, tongue swaying as they spoke. “ ** _You are coming with us._** ”

“I am not,” the other man hissed, blood dribbling down his chin.

“ ** _You don’t have a choice,_** ” Venom informed him, and then charged.

With a screech, the bird-man jumped, immediately flying out of harm’s way. “ _My_ justice!” he yelled. “Will have revenge! You won’t stop me!”

 _Chatty this time, isn’t he?_ Eddie observed.

Venom leapt after him, claws just short of grabbing the bird-man’s talons. They extended a tendril for extra reach, latching on and dragging the cannibal back down to the roof with them.

With an undignified squawk, the bird-man tried to pry the tendril off with his hands.

“ ** _Not going to work_** ,” Venom snarled, their grip tightening. “ ** _We’re turning you in, you—_ **”

The red wings, sharp as steel, sliced through the tendril.

 _Oh come_ **_on_** _!_ Eddie internally screamed.

Within moments, the bird-man was airborne again, abandoning the fight and his prey entirely. He sped upward, out of reach, and very soon, out of sight.

Venom stared at the starless sky as their claws reformed, still on the rooftop, with nothing to show for it.

“ ** _That guy_** ,” the symbiote started, anger welling up in their bond, “ ** _is total bullshit._** ”

 _Hard agree_ , Eddie sighed. So much for catching the guy in the act. _Come on, let’s take a look at that body he dragged here._

“ ** _It is dead, Eddie_** ,” Venom recoiled. “ ** _We do not eat dead meat._** ”

 _No, I mean let’s_ ** _look_** _at it!_ Eddie argued. _There might be clues!_

With an annoyed huff, Venom complied, walking back over to the dead body the bird-man had left behind. It was a man, middle-aged, with what once was probably slicked back hair and an expensive suit, now mussed and stained, and a significant chunk of his torso ripped open. His face was mangled, deep gashes going right through his skull, from injuries Eddie assumed came from the talons.

 _Jeez, he really did a number on this guy_ , the reporter mused. They crouched to observe more closely, taking in the bitten, butchered organs. _Might’ve killed him before bringing him up here to eat._

“ ** _Disgusting,_** ” Venom commented flatly. “ ** _Really does eat roadkill, like a vulture._** ”

 _Could just call him that from now on — Vulture_. _No, wait,_ Eddie paused, vaguely recalling there was some other crazed villain called Vulture already. He could feel Venom flick through his memories, like skimming through a book, before the association came back to him. _Spider-Man took out somebody named Vulture. So maybe this is…_ He thought, mulling over the man’s characteristics.

Mostly a bird, mostly like a vulture. Very, very red.

_Red Vulture?_

“ ** _That’s a stupid name_**.”

 _I’m not great with names, alright?_ Eddie grumbled. _Leave me alone_.

“ ** _No, stupid suits him,_** ” the symbiote smiled smugly. “ ** _We’ll call him Red Vulture._** ”

 _Great,_ Eddie huffed. With surprisingly delicate movements, Venom moved the body, searching through pockets. _Let’s see if this guy’s got any ID._

Before they even came close to finding a wallet, they found a gun stashed on the inside of the man’s suit jacket. Further checks turned up a fancy gold watch, complete with ostentatious diamonds encircling the face. Multiple rings on the man’s fingers. His shoes, though blood-spattered, were shined enough to be a mirror. He absolutely _reeked_ with wealth.

Wealth, and blood.

 _Red Vulture mentioned something about justice, yeah?_ Eddie pondered. _Dude’s got fancy clothes, a gun, and managed to piss off a super-powered bird enough to get eaten._

The easiest answer, in that case, was the mob. Always into shady shit, and plenty of money and enemies to spare.

Venom turned the body over, passively ignoring the the man’s gaping guts spilling out onto the concrete as they continued to search his pockets.

 _Mob connection might be_ **_too_ ** _easy,_ Eddie thought, _but—_

“Hey, fang-face!”

Venom startled, their head snapping in the direction of the voice.

At the other end of the roof, standing tall, was a man in a red and blue bodysuit. Wide, silver eye shields narrowed as he stared at Venom, webbed mask giving no other indication of his expression.

 _Oh shit,_ Eddie realized, _That’s Spider-Man!_

The guy was shorter than he’d expected. His stance was almost casual, too, for someone who was likely patrolling the streets for bad guys. He seemed smug, like he’d caught them red-handed.

At that moment, Eddie realized just what Spider-Man was looking at.

Here he was, tucked inside a large, horrifying space alien, with rows and rows of sharp, pointy teeth. Crouched next to a very dead, very eviscerated body. Clawed, deadly hands, hovering over said body, absolutely _covered_ in blood.

 _Oh shit,_ Eddie realized. _That’s_ **_Spider-Man._ **


	6. Fight and Flee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoops it's time to fight Spider-Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank you to everyone still patiently waiting for this fic to update. I am 100% avoiding my adulting responsibilities by finishing this chapter so wish me luck lol

Eddie Brock had been in a lot of tight spots before. Hell, he’d managed to completely rebuild and rebrand himself after Sin-Eater, much as the events still haunted his psyche. Threats to his person were more common than compliments, if he were being totally honest with himself. The running theme of his life was a collection of minor screw ups that snowballed into hugely life-altering scenarios that, really, he should be prepared to face by now.

And yet, every damn time, he was surprised.

He stared through Venom’s eyes at the tiny, spider-based Avenger, horror and shock gripping his chest, along with a heaping of dread to top it all off. This was, quite possibly, the absolute worst-case-scenario. One that he _told_ himself, had _warned_ his symbiote, could happen.

“Y’know, eating that guy’s probably pretty unhealthy for you,” Spider-Man pointed out, confirming to Eddie that he did indeed think that Venom was the one who had eviscerated the bloody body. “Eating people in general, really. Pretty gross.”

“ ** _No!_** ” Venom snarled in protest, the symbiote’s own disgust squirming in their shared gut. “ ** _We didn’t eat this guy! We do not eat dead meat!_** ”

Spider-Man only tilted his head, oddly expressive eye-shields unchanging. “Oo-kay, well, that just makes me like, 99% certain that you definitely ate _somebody_.”

For the life of him, Eddie couldn’t actually deny it. _Fuck, V, that is the opposite of helping!_

The Avenger lifted his arm, aiming his wrist at them. “I’m gonna just take you in now. Hold still.” And with that, webbing shot from the device on his wrist.

Venom stood to their full height, swiping a clawed hand to catch the line. They grabbed it easily, but the material stuck, clinging to their palm. Officially resisting.

_Shit_ , Eddie thought. _Shit shit shit._

Spider-Man tugged back on the webbing, pulling Venom forward into a stumble.

“ **We aren’t the ones who ate him!** ” they reiterated, this time together. Venom’s skin clung to the roof under their feet, stalling their movement and grounding them. “ **The guy who did just flew off!** ”

“Right, yeah,” Spider-Man scoffed with a laugh, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he couldn’t pull them anymore. “C’mon, man, I fight supervillains on the regular. Y’know how many times I’ve heard that one before?” He clutched at his chest dramatically with his free hand. “‘Oh, it wasn’t me, Spider-Man! It was the _other_ supervillain that eats people, you know the one!’” He paused in his mockery, eyes suddenly narrowing as he thought. “...Actually, in retrospect, that _is_ a new one.”

The symbiote growled at the insult. “ ** _We are not a villain! We are Venom!_** ”

“Oh sure, _Venom_ , of course!” Spider-Man chirped, with a sarcastic, gentle smack to his own forehead. “Obviously! What totally normal name! That doesn’t sound like an edgy 80s supervillain at _all!_ ”

“ ** _Not edgy!_** ” Venom protested, gathering up more of the webbing in their hands. “ ** _Intimidating! Badass!_** ”

“Whatever you say, edgelord,” Spider-Man shrugged with one shoulder, and then leapt into the air.

For a brief moment, Venom expected him to jump over them completely, until the Avenger raised his other wrist and fired off yet another web. This one burst and expanded, like a net, encasing them in the sticky substance, but only until the symbiote managed to tear it off with a snarl. If Eddie weren’t consumed with panic, he would have marveled that the material had broken so easily, compared to the lines that had held up steel billboards just the other day.

Spider-Man landed in a crouch, eyes widened. “Okay, so maybe you’re a _little_ stronger than I gave you credit f—”

Venom tugged on the line still wrapped up in their hand, pulling the hero to them. Instead of simply crashing into them, Spider-Man managed to reorient himself mid-air, slamming into Venom with a kick that Eddie was certain would, normally, break bones.

As they were, Venom was simply propelled backwards, over the roof and into the wall of the next building.

“ ** _Pretty strong yourself_** ,” Venom growled, shifting and attaching themselves to the brick behind them.

“And you can stick, too!” Spider-Man observed. “We have so much in common! Y’know,” he gestured behind him, to the dead body. “Aside from the whole eating-that-guy bit.”

“ ** _You’re not listening!_** ” Venom roared, shoving off the building and jumping straight at the hero.

To his credit, Spider-Man did dodge. He just wasn’t expecting a tendril to extend from Venom, latch onto his leg, and slam him into the ground. He groaned, broken concrete beneath him a guaranteed sign that he'd be getting a splitting headache later, when he found himself suddenly being grabbed in two, monstrous hands, and subsequently lifted into the air.

Their massive claws wrapped around the Avenger completely, keeping his arms pinned as he struggled. This close, Eddie had a hard time believing they were actually holding an Avenger. Supposedly, a grown adult. The guy was wiry. Muscular, but thin and lanky, like a teenager who was still working through his last growth spurt. The fact that he was absolutely dwarfed by Venom’s size wasn’t exactly a comfort in that regard.

_Wait, is he actually a kid?_ Eddie wondered. _What’s the age requirement to be an Avenger?_

His wonder ended the second Venom moved to stretch their jaw open, tongue lolling out of their mouth.

_NO!_ The reporter shouted within the confines of his symbiote. _No kids! No superheroes! He’s bo—he’s at least one of the two!_

A disgruntled, disappointed growl was the response. Venom, still keeping a firm grip on Spider-Man, eased the boy down so he was pinned between the large, alien hand on his chest and the roof of the building. Narrowed, opalescent eyes caught sight of one of the web-shooters, and Venom snapped the device off the hero’s wrist.

“Wha—Hey!” Spider-Man protested. “That’s mine!”

“ ** _You’re going to stay here_** ,” they stated, pointing the web-shooter at the hero’s flailing legs.

“Seriously?!”

Within seconds, the webbing had encased Spider-Man’s ankles, securing them to the roof. Only when they were certain he wouldn’t be able to move them did Venom shift their grip.

Eddie briefly contemplated breaking the both web-shooters. It would keep the kid from coming after them for a bit longer, but he did still have some respect for the guy. He didn’t want to break his superhero gadgets.

Even if Spider-Man _did_ jump to conclusions.

Instead of breaking the devices, they shot more webbing onto both of Spider-Man’s hands, effectively sticking him to the roof. “ **Yes, seriously.** ” Eddie pondered over the device in their hand, ultimately deciding that they really didn’t need to piss off the avenger more than they already had. They placed the web-shooter gently onto Spider-Man’s chest before standing upright.

God, Spider-Man was so _small_.

“ ** _If you won’t believe us, fine_** ,” Venom rumbled, “ _ **b** **ut stay out of our way**_ ** _._** ” They turned, and despite Eddie’s inner protests, leapt from the roof to disappear into the night.

* * *

Spider-Man watched his foe leave, head straining to keep sight of them. Once Venom vanished, he let out a pained, frustrated groan, letting his head fall back with a thud.

_Great_ , Peter mused. _Found the guy mid-meal, still couldn’t catch him._ The guy - _monster_ , really, because what the _hell_ was that? - was way too strong. Stronger than he had any right to be.

“Incoming call from: Tony Stark,” Karen’s voice spoke smoothly into his headset.

“What?!” Peter yelped. “No, no no no, don’t put him thr—”

“ _Kid?_ ”

Peter stifled an anguished scream. He put on his best, most chipper, borderline retail voice, which was honestly pitched a little too high to come off as normal. “Hey—Hi, Mr. Stark!”

“ _How’s the hunt going?_ ”

Spider-Man squirmed against the webbing pinning him to the building. “Uh, everything’s, uh—”

No good. Stuck tight. Peter suddenly felt a pang of remorse for all the people he’d put in this very situation. Now he understood what all the yelling and cursing was about.

Stark was still waiting on the line.

“So, good news: I, uh, I found the cannibal!” Peter provided. He didn’t have to divulge the bad news that he was stuck to a rooftop somewhere in East Village, right? Right. “He’s like—He’s this crazy tall monster man with lots and lots of teeth. Calls himself Venom.”

“ _Venom?_ ” the scoff came through loud and clear. “ _What, does he have a side-gig in a metal band?_ ”

“He’s got more of a KISS thing going on,” Peter observed. “He does the tongue thing.” He would not add that he saw the tongue when the monster very nearly bit his head off. Totally irrelevant.

“ _That’s...somehow that’s worse,_ ” Tony noted. “ _You catch him yet?_ ”

“I…” Peter trailed off. Tugged against the webs again. Not budging. “I’m going to,” he promised. He would catch Venom. Soon. Once he figured out how the hell to break through his own webbing. This really wasn’t a predicament he’d ever expected to be in.

“ _Good, get on it. I would say ‘call if you need anything,’ but frankly, I’m busy, and I don’t want you to actually call me._ ”

“Will do, Mr. Stark!”

“ _I’m serious. Don’t._ ”

“I—Right, yeah, I’ll go after the cannibal,” Peter elaborated.

“ _Good_.” The call ended.

Peter let out a heavy sigh, letting his head fall back again. From here he could almost see stars. Cars honked below, intermingling with the regular nightlife of New York City. Plenty of people milled about their business, with no knowledge that there was a certain spider lying quietly above them, stuck to the roof.

* * *

“Oh my god, we left Spider-Man stuck to a fucking roof,” Eddie panicked, walking down an alleyway at a pace that was bordering the line between speed walking and running for his life. No one was chasing them, he knew. He knew, because he looked over his shoulder every thirty seconds or so, expecting a flash of red and blue to come swinging up behind them.

**_He wasn’t listening!_ **his symbiote snarled, snug and safe beneath his skin.

“Yeah, I know, but—” Eddie groaned. There was no way they weren’t on some Avengers watch list, now. If they weren’t, they would be. Spider-Man himself wasn’t going to forget them anytime soon, thinking they were the cannibal.

**_We can handle him,_ ** Venom assured their host. **_We are stronger than him, Eddie. Stronger than a superhero._ **

The reporter could feel Venom’s pride at that swimming through his veins. Stronger than a superhero. They were powerful enough to outpace _Spider-Man_. More powerful than Eddie could have ever dreamed he’d be, even in his childhood fantasies.

But, instead of filling him with a childlike giddiness, the notion mostly gave him all-consuming anxiety.

_Spidey wouldn’t recruit the others to take us down, would he?_ he wondered. Spider-Man wasn’t enough to take Venom down by himself, if that fight had been any indication, but there were plenty of other Avengers. Plenty right in NYC, in fact. He knew that. Spider-Man knew that.

So, logically, he’d probably bring backup next time.

“Shit,” Eddie hissed, wholly unwilling and unable to conceive of the prospect of fighting the other Avengers. He had no desire to find out what Thor’s lightning or Iron Man’s blasters could do to Venom. “Fucking hell, we are so, so fucked.”

**_We are not fucked_** , Venom countered. **_They don’t know us as you. We are strong. We will be fine._ **

Eddie bit his lower lip, worry still buzzing in his brain, but his symbiote did bring up a valid point in all its bragging.

They didn’t know Venom as Eddie Brock.

They could, technically, still move about the city. Maybe get the fuck _out_ of the city.

**_Can still catch the cannibal, Eddie._ **

“At this juncture I’m really not sure that’s gonna fix things,” Eddie hissed.

**_Catch Red Vulture, turn him in_** , Venom pressed. **_We’ll be heroes, Eddie. The Avengers won’t come after us when they know we’re heroes._ **

Eddie slowed his pace, eventually stopping, staring blankly down the street of a quiet neighborhood. Venom could catch Red Vulture, if the bastard stopped slipping out of their grasp. They’d have to track him down. Maybe ambush him. Then they could bring him to the police, or the Avengers themselves, to clear their name.The Avengers didn’t even _know_ about Red Vulture, at this point.

They didn’t know who they _should_ be hunting.

He pointed the police in the wrong direction with Sin-Eater.

**_Could point them all in the right direction, this time._ **

Eddie cast another glance behind him. No red or blue. No one, technically, after them. There wouldn’t be anyone after Eddie Brock, either. He was still free to investigate.

He was an investigative reporter, after all.

Eddie lifted a hand, rubbing gently over his ribs, where he could feel Venom. Clear their name. Redeem himself in New York.

Be a hero.

Knowing full-well he was probably going to regret this, Eddie steeled his nerves. “...Alright. Let’s do it.”


End file.
